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<TITLE>Re: [ProfessionalDevelopment 2236] Re: What do we mean bystudentinvolvement and critical thinking?</TITLE>
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<FONT FACE="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12.0px'>Hi Steve,<BR>
<BR>
LLF teaches teachers another strategy ( visual literacy) for engaging adult learners in achieving literacy and math proficiency. LLF designs classroom experiential education and enrichment materials and provides professional development services around those materials. It is not the goals but the method which is a little different. <BR>
<BR>
You are quite right, we backed into adult education around parent involvement and family leadership issues. What we learned was that, logic notwithstanding, connecting adult and early childhood outcomes is still a stretch. However, visual literacy, in and of itself, appears to be a useful tool for engaging adults in strengthening their basic skills particularly observation, critical thinking, and communications skills. The work has shown promise in strengthening self-expression through speaking and writing, and improved confidence in math ( understanding geometry and measurement) and social studies, particularly graphing and mapping outcomes. <BR>
<BR>
Hope that helps - Louise<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
On 7/9/08 2:53 PM, "Steve Kaufmann" <steve@thelinguist.com> wrote:<BR>
<BR>
</SPAN></FONT><BLOCKQUOTE><FONT FACE="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12.0px'>I have to admit that I simply do not understand the following post. Just what is it that LLF teaches? How to think? English? How to be a leader in your family?<BR>
<BR>
Steve<BR>
<BR>
On Wed, Jul 9, 2008 at 10:20 AM, Louise Wiener <lwiener@llfinc.org> wrote:<BR>
</SPAN></FONT><BLOCKQUOTE><FONT FACE="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12.0px'>Hello All,<BR>
<BR>
I have been following the language development / critical thinking<BR>
discussion with interest. Learning and Leadership in Families, the<BR>
non-profit I lead in Washington, DC, uses visual literacy - i.e. learning<BR>
through looking - to encourage both language development and critical<BR>
thinking. We teach critical thinking through exercises that gather<BR>
information through careful observation and encourage critical thinking by<BR>
comparing and contrasting what the adult already knows with the information<BR>
gathered from visual clues.<BR>
<BR>
LLF teaches how to use visual vocabulary (line, shape, color, texture, etc)<BR>
to explore familiar environments and/or to decode unfamiliar environments.<BR>
This can be done with dress / costume, with buildings or with other objects<BR>
that encourage discussion about cultures and their similarities and<BR>
differences. The process of building on what people already know and<BR>
underpinning their knowledge with a structure that encourages critical<BR>
thinking and deductive reasoning results in language development.<BR>
<BR>
What is most interesting in an ELL context is that the visual vocabulary<BR>
provides a structure that cuts across cultures, but different cultures<BR>
interpret different visual elements differently. For example, the meaning<BR>
of different kinds of lines is universal. The meaning of different colors<BR>
and patterns varies from culture to culture - but is present as an<BR>
identifier across cultures. Makes for interesting conversations. Louise<BR>
Wiener<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#888888">--<BR>
Louise W. Wiener, Executive Director<BR>
Learning and Leadership in Families<BR>
<BR>
email: lwiener@LLFinc.org<BR>
web: www.LLFinc.org <a href="http://www.LLFinc.org"><http://www.LLFinc.org></a> <BR>
</FONT><BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
On 7/9/08 10:45 AM, "Andy Nash" <andy_nash@worlded.org> wrote:<BR>
<BR>
> Hi,<BR>
I think I’m agreeing with Steve when I say that critical thinking<BR>
> and<BR>
language ability are really quite separate things and that there’s<BR>
> no<BR>
reason to think that ESL beginners (or any students) don’t already<BR>
think<BR>
> critically – or, in fact, that we (the teachers) do. So rather<BR>
than talking<BR>
> about “teaching” critical thinking, I’d be more<BR>
comfortable talking about<BR>
> “practicing” critical thinking along with<BR>
our students. And this, I think,<BR>
> means questioning assumptions and<BR>
asking why things are as they are. As<BR>
> Winston noted in his description<BR>
of health projects, it’s about considering<BR>
> who benefits and who loses<BR>
from presenting information/ideas in a particular<BR>
> way, whose<BR>
perspectives are represented or omitted, etc.<BR>
<BR>
Where I differ with<BR>
> Steve is that I think that Cynthia’s and<BR>
Heide’s lesson examples show us ways<BR>
> for students and teachers to<BR>
hear alternative experiences and perspectives and<BR>
> to remind ourselves<BR>
that things can be different (and they ARE different for<BR>
> different<BR>
groups of people). And this is what Cynthia was talking about when<BR>
> she<BR>
supported the idea of students recognizing their agency – that we<BR>
don’t<BR>
> have to just accept things as they are.<BR>
<BR>
Andy Nash<BR>
<BR>
>>> "Steve Kaufmann"<BR>
> <steve@thelinguist.com> 7/9/2008 12:15 AM >>><BR>
I no longer sure what the<BR>
> subject of discussion is.. So here are my<BR>
views on<BR>
critical thinking, beginner<BR>
> ESL, social activism and the role of<BR>
modern<BR>
technology.<BR>
<BR>
1) Critical<BR>
> thinking.<BR>
If learners have limited English skills and a limited vocabulary,<BR>
> we<BR>
have no<BR>
idea of their critical thinking skills. They simply cannot<BR>
> express<BR>
themselves in English. How do we know if someone can do the<BR>
> following<BR>
if<BR>
they do not have the words?<BR>
<BR>
- Observe<BR>
- Question<BR>
-<BR>
> Analyze<BR>
- Compare<BR>
- Evaluate<BR>
- Judge<BR>
- Synthesize<BR>
<BR>
And do we judge<BR>
> them based on our cultural standards?<BR>
<BR>
In my experience, ESL learners who seem<BR>
> to have trouble arguing their<BR>
points<BR>
logically, generally have not enough<BR>
> words in English. I wonder how<BR>
many of<BR>
the people on this discussion Forum can<BR>
> sound intelligent in another<BR>
language. First let the learners acquire words.<BR>
> The more they have the<BR>
more<BR>
they can learn.<BR>
<BR>
2) Beginner ESL<BR>
I think there is<BR>
> enough evidence out there that beginner ESL students<BR>
should<BR>
not be trying to<BR>
> say anything. Just google "the silent period<BR>
hypothesis"<BR>
and you will find<BR>
> lots of articles like<BR>
this<a href="http://homepage3.nifty.com/park/silent.htm"><http://homepage3.nifty.com/park/silent.htm></a>.<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
Let<BR>
> the beginner learners listen to and read simple stories, divided<BR>
into<BR>
30-60<BR>
> second episodes, where the translation is available in their<BR>
language.<BR>
Let<BR>
> them listen at first while reading in their own language, if they<BR>
can<BR>
read.Let<BR>
> their brains get used to the language.<BR>
<BR>
Let them listen 20-30 times, for a<BR>
> period of 2-3 months Do not put<BR>
pressure<BR>
on them to speak.<BR>
<BR>
3) Social<BR>
> activism<BR>
If the goal is not English language instruction, but "educating"<BR>
> the<BR>
students in some activist agenda, find a person who speaks their<BR>
language<BR>
> to<BR>
do it. Do not confuse it with English teaching.<BR>
<BR>
4) Modern technology<BR>
The<BR>
> best place for modern technology is outside the classroom. This<BR>
empowers<BR>
the<BR>
> learner and the teacher. It extends the influence of the teacher<BR>
and<BR>
makes<BR>
> sure that learning is not perceived as something artificial that<BR>
only<BR>
happens<BR>
> in the classroom.<BR>
<BR>
The exception to this would be if the learners do not have<BR>
> access to<BR>
computers, MP3 players etc, on their own.<BR>
<BR>
Steve<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
--<BR>
Steve<BR>
> Kaufmann<BR>
www.lingq.com <a href="http://www.lingq.com"><http://www.lingq.com></a> <BR>
><BR>
1-604-922-8514<BR>
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